


worth getting a little cold over

by punchbowls



Category: IT (1990), IT - Stephen King
Genre: Fluff, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Sickfic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-27
Updated: 2020-10-27
Packaged: 2021-03-08 22:54:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,162
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27224581
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/punchbowls/pseuds/punchbowls
Summary: Richie and Ben are both out of town so Eddie and Bev plan a weekend of fun.But Eddie comes down with a cold.
Relationships: Ben Hanscom/Beverly Marsh, Eddie Kaspbrak & Beverly Marsh, Eddie Kaspbrak/Richie Tozier
Comments: 10
Kudos: 54





	worth getting a little cold over

Eddie gets sick. Eddie gets sick and he's the last to acknowledge it. He wakes up in the morning and carries out his day without second thoughts. He recognizes all the symptoms right away of course, but he thinks he might just be paranoid. Maybe he's not really sick, maybe he's just making it up like everything his mother made up. He hopes he is, because if there's one thing worse than making up a sickness, it's being sick. It is its own misery _and_ all the mental trauma that comes along for the ride.

Eddie hopes so desperately that he's faking it, but by the last drive of the day he's completely spent and can no longer breathe out of his nostrils. He pulls into his and Richie's garage and he's so tired that when he sees Richie's car in the space next to his, tears well up in his eyes and fall down his cheeks.

Richie's gone on a small business trip for the weekend and the thought of him not being home crushes Eddie's soul. A little voice in the back of his head tells him it's not that big of a deal, it's just the weekend. Richie's gone on weekend trips before and it's nothing Eddie can't handle. Besides, this weekend Bev is coming to stay because Ben is also on a business trip.

Bev, _Bev_ , Eddie thinks. He should call her and cancel, tell her to stay home. He doesn't want her to catch what he's got. More frustrated tears fall down his cheeks and he leans his head on the top of the steering wheel. This stupid bug is ruining their fun weekend and he just wants to be fine, he wants to be healthy, because he is healthy.

He doesn't call Bev, and the next time he thinks of her is when she's knocking on the car window. Eddie coughs and cringes at the pain that shoots through his neck and spine. He clearly opens his eyes to see Bev knocking on the window.

"Eddie! Eddie, oh my god, are you okay? What happened?" he hears her shout.

"I'b sick," he answers.

He pushes himself up from where his face was pressed into the top of the steering wheel. Luckily he didn't press the horn. He groans through the painful process and falls back into the seat.

"What?" Beverly shouts.

He cracks open the door, just a little so that she can hear him and not catch any germs. He doesn't have a chance to do much else though because once the door is unlocked, Beverly yanks it open to get to him.

"I'b sick," Eddie protests as she grabs onto him.

"God, Eddie, you scared me! You looked _dead_ \- what happened, how long have you been in here?" Beverly asks in a rush.

"Since I got hobe," Eddie answers and Bev frowns at him.

"When did you get home, honey?" she asks, putting a hand on his forehead.

"Do'bt know," he says. Her hand is cool and feels good, but he pushes past her to get out of the car. His back screams in protest as he stands and he can feel Beverly's hands hovering around him.

He doesn't want to be _coddled_ and tries to sigh, but with his clogged sinuses the attempt only feeds the growing, dull headache wrapping around his skull.

He places his hand on the hood of the car and grunts in response.

"Not very long, engine's still hot," he says, then coughs. "You should go home," he adds through a shudder.

"No way, not when you fell asleep in the car like that," she replies.

"Beverly, please, I dob't want you to get sick either-"

"No, listen to me, Eddie Kaspbrak," Beverly says with such force, he's startled for a moment, "You want me to go because you don't want me to take care of you. You don't want me to fuss over you like your mother did. Well I am not going to fuss over you like that. You are going inside to take a hot shower and put on pjs while I make you dinner as your friend. I am not going to dope you up on unnecessary drugs, you are going to put some Vick's Vapo Rub under your nose and drink some hot tea. Then we are going to get comfy on the couch and watch _Sleepless in Seattle_. _As friends_. You don't have a choice, got it?"

Eddie blinks, then nods.

"Okay," Bev says, then grabs his house keys from his pocket and pulls him inside.

His nostrils are a little clearer after a hot shower, though they do plug up again soon after. Still, he feels better mentally and emotionally afterwards than he did before and he can smell the mentholatum under his nose. Bev makes him the best chicken noodle soup he's ever had and they both enjoy cups of peppermint tea on the couch.

"There's pobcorn in the cu'board by the fridge," Eddie tells her as previews play muted on the TV.

"Do you want some?" she asks and he shakes his head.

"Can I get you anything else while I'm up?"

He opens his mouth to answer but coughs instead. Bev's hand rubs his shoulder as he curls up half way until the coughing fit ends.

"Water?" he asks in a rasp.

She nods and runs her hand through his hair as she gets up and walks to the kitchen. Her touch feels good, it's not suffocating like his mother's would be. Of course, it's not Richie's either, but it's nice like his. It's a touch he doesn't mind at all.

Bev comes back a couple minutes later with a bag of popcorn and a glass of water. Eddie takes a few sips as she sits back down.

They share one couch, but Bev still gives him space. She sits at one end and Eddie curls up on the rest of it, his head on a pillow near her legs.

"You were right," he says as the movie starts, "But also I dob't want you to get sick either. I do care about you Bev." He tilts his head to look at her and she smiles softly at him.

"I know Eddie, thank you. But you're worth possibly getting a little cold over."

Eddie turns his head towards the TV and frowns studiously to avoid tearing up again. Bev's hand falls into his hair and she begins to massage his head.

"I'b gonna take care ob you if you get it," Eddie says. His eyelids start to feel heavy.

"What if you catch it again?"

"Worth it," Eddie says with confidence, "I lobe you, Bev."

"I love you too, Eddie," Beverly says. Her voice is soft and warm and her hand in his hair is comforting. Eddie relaxes more and more and his eyelids get heavier. They're barely fifteen minutes into the movie when he's out like a light.


End file.
